Vietnam win bronze medal at AFF futsal champs

Vietnam won the bronze medal after crushing Myanmar 7-3 in the third-place match of the AFF HDBank Futsal Championship at Phu Tho Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, on October 27.

Vietnamese midfielder Tran Thai Huy celebrates his goal in the AFF Futsal Championship's third-place play-off against Myanmar. (Photo courtesy of HDBank)
Vietnamese midfielder Tran Thai Huy celebrates his goal in the AFF Futsal Championship's third-place play-off against Myanmar. (Photo courtesy of HDBank)

The hosts entered the match with the support of over 3,000 fans.

After a number of missed chances, Vietnam scored the opening goal with a powerful shot from midfielder Tran Thai Huy after he received the ball from a corner.

Within the next minute, Huy took advantage of Myanmar to make it 2-0 in the 6th minute.

After conceding two goals, Myanmar tightened up and looked for a reply.

It came in the ninth minute when Pyae Phyo Maung intercepted a pass by Tran Van Vu.

In the 15th minute, Nguyen Manh Dung fouled Hlaing Min Tun and gave away a penalty, but Maung was unable to beat goalkeeper Ho Van Y.

Kyaw Soe Moe equalised a minute later after a bad clearance from Nguyen Minh Tri.

Both teams had more chances before the break, but the first-half finished all square.

Vietnam started the second half with intent, and just 7 minutes after the break, Nhan Gia Hung scored with an unstoppable shot.

Five minutes later, the hosts had a chance to score another from the penalty spot, and Vu made no mistake to make it 4-2.

Myanmar went all out looking for a goal, and it worked, and within a minute Maung had clawed one back.

But that was the last thing Myanmar had to celebrate. Vietnam's defence stayed solid and the attackers were able to take advantage of Myanmar playing without a goalkeeper to score three more from long range.

Vietnam won the match 7-3 and claimed the last ticket to the 2020 Asian Futsal Championship, which will be held Turkmenistan. This is the sixth time Vietnam have qualified to the Asian competition.

At the final, defending champions Thailand defeated Indonesia 5-0 to win their 15th trophy in 16 years.

Thailand’s goals were scored by Muhammad and Suphawut in the first half, and by Wraut and Kritsanda (two goals) in the second half.

The AFF HDBank Futsal Championship was jointly held by Radio The Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) from October 21-27.